Modelo 720
TL;DR
- Modelo 720 is an informative declaration of assets held abroad — it reports, it does not tax.
- You file if any of three categories — bank accounts, securities/insurance, real estate — exceeds €50,000 abroad.
- The window is 1 January to 31 March of the following year; after the first filing you only re-file a category that grows by more than €20,000.
- The infamous penalties — 150% of the asset value, €5,000 per data item — were struck down by the CJEU (C-788/19, 27 January 2022) and abolished by Ley 5/2022.
- Today late or incorrect filings fall under the general penalty regime of the LGT (arts. 198–199) — a fraction of the old regime.
Facts verified 10 August 2026 against the Agencia Tributaria, BOE and CJEU. This is not tax advice.
Modelo 720 is the form Spanish tax residents use to tell the Agencia Tributaria about assets they hold outside Spain. It is the most feared form in taxes in Spain — and most of that fear is out of date. The confiscatory penalty regime that made it notorious was declared contrary to EU law in 2022 and dismantled the same year, yet the top of the search results still quotes the dead figures. Here is what the form is, who files it, and what the penalty picture actually looks like now.
Updated 10 August 2026
Key facts
| What it is | Informative declaration of foreign assets — no tax due on filing |
|---|---|
| Who files | Spanish tax residents (individuals and entities) |
| Threshold | €50,000 per category, assessed category by category |
| Categories | 1. Accounts · 2. Securities, rights and insurance · 3. Real estate |
| Filing window | 1 January – 31 March of the following year |
| Re-filing | Only if a declared category grows by more than €20,000 |
| Penalties today | General LGT regime (arts. 198–199, Ley 58/2003) |
If you read about gigantic fines — that regime is gone
For a decade, everything written about Modelo 720 led with terrifying numbers: a fine of 150% of the undeclared asset value, fixed penalties of €5,000 per data item, and no statute of limitations — undeclared foreign assets could be taxed as unjustified gains from any year, forever. Those numbers were real. They are no longer law.
On 27 January 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in case C-788/19 (Commission v Spain) that the regime breached the free movement of capital: the imprescriptibility, the 150% fine and the fixed per-item penalties were all found disproportionate. Spain responded within weeks: Ley 5/2022, of 9 March 2022, rewrote the relevant provisions of the LGT and the LIRPF and expressly repealed the special penalty block, including the 150% fine.
So: the obligation to file survives — Modelo 720 itself was never annulled — but the special punishment machine around it did not. Any article, adviser or ad still quoting the 150% fine or €5,000 per line as current law is describing a regime that died in 2022.
What applies instead
Since Ley 5/2022, mistakes around Modelo 720 fall under the general penalty regime of the Ley General Tributaria — arts. 198 and 199 of Ley 58/2003, the same articles that govern any late or inaccurate information return, applied separately to each of the three asset blocks. The AEAT’s own Modelo 720 guidance confirms this.
We deliberately do not print the euro amounts here: they are standard LGT penalties for late information returns, a fraction of the old regime, and the exact figures depend on how many data items are affected and whether you file voluntarily before the AEAT asks. For the current amounts, go to the consolidated text of Ley 58/2003 on the BOE (linked below) or ask an adviser — not to a blog post dated 2019.
Who files, and the €50,000 threshold
You file if you are a Spanish tax resident and the total value of any one of these categories, held outside Spain, exceeds €50,000:
- Accounts in foreign banks or credit institutions
- Securities, rights and insurance: shares, funds, bonds, life insurance, annuities held or managed abroad
- Real estate (and rights over real estate) located outside Spain
The threshold is per category, not per asset and not combined. Two foreign accounts of €30,000 each put the accounts category at €60,000 — you declare the category. A €45,000 foreign flat and €45,000 in foreign funds trigger nothing: neither category crosses €50,000. When a category is declared, you report every asset in it, however small each item is.
When to file
- First filing: between 1 January and 31 March of the year after the year in which you crossed a threshold. Become a resident in 2026 with €80,000 in a UK account — your first Modelo 720 is due 1 January – 31 March 2027.
- After that: you do not re-file every year. A category is declared again only if its value grew by more than €20,000 since your last declaration for that block, or if you ceased to be the holder of a declared asset (closed the account, sold the flat).
- Filing is online only, through the AEAT’s Sede Electrónica, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve.
Note the interaction with the special expat regime: whether you are inside the ordinary resident system or under the Beckham Law changes your reporting position, and non-residents with Spanish property have a different form altogether — the non-resident tax (Modelo 210).
⚠ Scams to avoid
- Panic marketing with dead figures. "Save yourself from 150% fines" ads are selling fear of a regime abolished in 2022 — check the date on anything you read about Modelo 720 penalties.
- "Amnesty" intermediaries. There is no special amnesty procedure to pay for; late voluntary filing under the general LGT regime is an ordinary procedure any competent adviser handles.
- "Don’t file, they can’t see it". Spain receives automatic account information from dozens of countries under CRS exchange; advice to skip an obligation that costs nothing to fulfil is advice against your interest.
FAQ
Are the €5,000-per-item and 150% fines still in force?
No. The CJEU struck the old regime down on 27 January 2022 (case C-788/19) and Ley 5/2022 abolished it. Late or incorrect filings now fall under the general LGT penalty regime — a fraction of the old amounts.
Does filing Modelo 720 mean paying tax?
No. It is purely informative — no tax is due on the declaration itself. Taxes on the income those assets produce are a separate matter for your ordinary returns.
Do I have to file every year?
No. After the first filing, you only re-file a category whose value has grown by more than €20,000 since your last declaration, or where you stopped being the holder of a declared asset.
Which assets count towards the €50,000?
Each category is measured on its own: all foreign accounts together, all foreign securities and insurance together, all foreign real estate together. Crossing €50,000 in one category obliges you to declare that category only.
I filed late — what should I expect?
Under the general LGT regime, voluntary late filing before the AEAT contacts you is treated substantially more gently than filing after a request. For exact amounts, see Ley 58/2003, arts. 198–199 on the BOE or ask a qualified adviser.
Sources:
CJEU, judgment of 27 January 2022, case C-788/19; Ley 5/2022, de 9 de marzo (BOE-A-2022-3712); Ley 58/2003, General Tributaria, arts. 198–199 (BOE-A-2003-23186); Agencia Tributaria — Modelo 720 FAQ: thresholds, filing window and applicable penalty regime, retrieved 10 August 2026. This is not tax advice; if you have unfiled years, take the specifics to a qualified Spanish tax adviser.
Reviewed by the Happy Residence S.L. team. Every figure on this page is checked against the official source on the date shown above.
We are an administrative assistance service, not a public administration.